Popcorn was discovered by the American Indians many thousands of years ago. The American Indians had many different ways to pop kernels of corn. One known way was to hold an ear of corn over a fire. This, however, was not very satisfactory since many kernels of popped corn were lost in the fire. Another known way was to throw a handful of kernels of corn into the fire. The popcorn popped out of the fire in many different directions so that there was a problem of gathering the popped kernels of corn. A third known method of making popcorn required filling pots with hot sand, throwing in kernels of corn, and stirring the mixture with a stick. As the kernels of corn popped, the popcorn came to the top of the sand. The popcorn was easy to gather, but there was a tendancy for grains of sand to mix with the popcorn so that the popcorn was gritty.
Today, popcorn is still a favorite snack of many people of America. Over 60% of the popcorn consumed today is popped at home.
There are many known prior art devices designed to pop corn at home. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,570,126 to Hobbs, a device is disclosed wherein oil and the kernels of corn are placed in a pot which is provided with a lid and stirrer. The pot is then placed on a stove for heating the bottom of the pot. The pot is covered by the lid and the stirrer is turned manually to prevent the popped corn from scorching. This device does not separate the popped corn from the unpopped kernels during the heating stage.
Another prior art device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,611,910 to Hughes. In this device, corn is mixed with oil in a shallow base which is heated and covered by a substantially large dome so that the popped corn rises into the dome. This device does not separate the unpopped kernels from the popped popcorn during the heating stage. Consequently, all too often, many kernels of corn are unpopped even under the best conditions.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,756,139 to Wolens utilizes a stream of hot air to heat the kernels of corn to a popping temperature. The stream of air drives the popped corn out of the popping vessel and into a receptacle. While the device separates the unpopped kernels of corn from the popped popcorn, the popcorn is not lightly coated with oil so that crystals of salt do not easily adhere to the popcorn. It is well known that salt significantly enhances the taste of popcorn.